After speaking at a press conference, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock checks out some of the products at Mondo Market, one of the many stores inside The Source, a European style market at 3350 Brighton Blvd in Denver, Co on February 11, 2014.

Attracting more retail development will be a key focus of Denver’s economic-development strategy this year, Mayor Michael Hancock announced Tuesday.

“Retail activity is extremely important to our fiscal health, and our goal is to make Denver truly one of the nation’s landmark retail cities,” he said at a news conference on JumpStart 2014, the city’s economic-development blueprint.

The city has targeted $200,000 out of the general fund to recruit more retailers, said Paul Washington, the city’s economic-development director.

Denver has also seen a sharp drop in defaults in its revolving loan fund for businesses, which will make more capital available for retailers needing assistance, Hancock said.

The city would like to see a continuation of niche projects that reuse old buildings, Hancock said while speaking at the Source, a former foundry on Brighton Boulevard that is home to 15 retail and restaurant tenants.

But the city also needs to attract more general-merchandise and big-box retailers to serve neighborhoods across the city, Hancock said.

Decades ago, Denver reigned as the region’s retail hub, with downtown’s big stores a major draw and small stores peppered throughout the various neighborhoods.

But the popularity of malls, which located in the suburbs because of high land prices in Denver, greatly depleted the core city’s retail muscle.

And while more prosperous areas such as Highland and Washington Park have restored vibrant retail scenes, some lower-income neighborhoods lack even a basic grocery store.

Aldo Svaldi has worked at The Denver Post since 2000. His coverage areas have included residential real estate, economic development and the Colorado economy. He's also worked for Financial Times Energy, the Denver Business Journal and Arab News.

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